tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16447282627196259092024-03-12T18:27:31.652-07:00AustraliaEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-58795190171637726282012-09-09T12:47:00.001-07:002012-09-09T12:51:19.167-07:00Luggage returned<div><p>Against all the odds my luggage was found (nobody has said where!) It was delivered to my door this evening, so I've been reunited with my toothbrush...it's been three days since I used it last! :-) Boogie board is a little more battered than it used to be but will probably still work ok. I'll just tell the other surfers that I had a run-in with an Ozzie shark! well this concludes my blog - I'll leave you with a picture of my darling baby asleep on the pile of clothes I now have to wash since they were returned to me after all!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23OIXVsDM5ozhp-5anwBfm8BeBTZD-ShuRZ0yu0B909gqwzp-Ct7iC_TIW_3djkIScdV6P60sIwdmJGkmTTAHMwKEv43XHsbnM8QI3chN71Oc-sNtYt54PBFVKrQYDInQEqMn6EVuu14t/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZmdbAkFq9mAzNjyrZHenPwXQoZO-wU8OHmzfoeJInqfYtwpICtyX9XawPT0ta2GWa4900ja4KOztVGcaZIRNmEnuTKrVviNkd_EirZmlynG4i8FgD_Ed050Zj0GZCdEes6PHmHP60nHs/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-88623832958346079922012-09-06T07:42:00.001-07:002012-09-06T07:42:36.612-07:00I'm in England...luggage is not!<div><p>My oversize baggage was put in a white cage at Melbourne and I thought at the time that it looked a bit dodgy...after waiting for two hours while they unloaded baggage at Manchester and then searched the cargo baggage they decided that mine wasn't there. It may be delivered tomorrow, or it may not...I strongly suspect that it is still in the white cage in Melbourne! Becky's parents are driving us home from Manchester airport after waiting all that time, bless them. We left Port Douglas 41 hours ago and counting!</p>
</div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-41306692370687141762012-09-05T04:03:00.001-07:002012-09-05T04:03:11.373-07:00For future reference...<div><p>...never try to put your entire arm in a Dyson hand drier -it squeaks menacingly and blows your arm into a funny shape. And after all that my arm still smells of a cacophony of perfumes from the duty free. One hour to go...</p>
</div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-70302463265199109022012-09-05T01:19:00.001-07:002012-09-05T01:47:35.812-07:00Travel zone<div><p>We haven't even left Australia yet and we've been "travelling" for eleven hours! I am well and truly floating in the "zone" now. For those of you who have never done a long-haul flight, let me describe the zone in a bit more detail (why does my phone think I want to say 'butt' every time I wasn't to write 'bit'?! How often do people use butt in everyday conversation for goodness sake? I think it's because my language is stuck on US English and I cant get it to change to UK English...grrr!) Back to the zone. So, the majority of the time you walk along with a glazed expression on your face, seeking only that information that is relevant- gate numbers, fight delays, check-in times, that kind of thing. You sit for incredibly long periods of time staring into space, interspersed with merry trips into shops where you plan to spend at least 45 mins closely examining every souvenir, exciting shop keepers with talk of purchasing a last-minute didgeridoo, and then coming to your senses moments before you part with your remaining cash (and realising you already have a cumbersome boogie board strapped into your rucksack and fitting in a didgeridoo just isn't going to happen!) and exiting the shop quietly while they are in the store room (I'm elaborating, but that's the way scenarios go when you're in the zone)</p>
<p>Then, you go to the toilet for the fifteenth time just for something to do and sit awhile in there just for a change of scenery. You consider the best way to use up Australian dollars. Having given up the didgeridoo idea you consider useful body shop products, until you realise that they are all bigger than 100mls so you cant take them in your hand luggage (and your checked-in baggage is full of boogie board). So you use the most expensive tester of body lotion over as much of your body as it is decent to expose and then leave quietly. You consider food, but you have that feeling of already having eaten aeroplane snacks all day so you're not entirely hungry though you do feel vaguely empty. You consider Australian animal finger puppets, at only $5 each they're a bargain...but there are a lot of indigenous animals and you don't have enough for the full set. Unable to decide whether you are more likely to use a wombat or an echidna in a workshop you give up the whole idea, decision-making is not a great quality of the zone.</p>
<p>You realise you have lost track of what souvenirs you have bought for what people, but decide that the principle of buying souvenirs in an airport is just all wrong and that they'd probably rather have nothing than a t-shirt that says "Somebody who loves me has spent 5 hours in Melbourne airport and got me this t-shirt."</p>
<p>You check the board to see if check-in is open yet, realise that it is only five minutes since you last checked and still over four hours until the flight.</p>
<p>Then you decide to blog, and supplement your entry with a photo of chocolate coated peanut brittle.</p>
<p>And there are still four hours to go...</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIIDQ6_PieC1avhvm8YsbpxH4pbRYdQS9OTmdSVBdXks7efO_ZL4cEgTqXyVkXzR5K3t4CzKJCy2q97H4fjBqfk2y8rlgdLmlPBDo7NWbd4IU5-wZ2koaMH87QEBMHQ8NhCxzylT-A_xr/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-66728330415371455312012-09-04T20:11:00.001-07:002012-09-04T20:11:00.794-07:00And we're off!<div><p>Well, the second pair of sunglasses has broken, and my underwater camera has finally leaked water into the lens so now it only films through a sexy haze...it's obviously time to come home. We've made it as far as Brisbane so far...and I have watched a whole film minus the last eleven minutes...if they haven't got "Salmon Fishing on the Yemen"on one of the next three flights I will never know which guy she chooses!</p>
<p>I've also managed to leave my snorkel in Port Douglas."How is this possible, a snorkel is huge?!" I hear you cry! Well, it was sitting on a rolled up blanket on the floor which I have only needed one night...a couple of nights ago. On this night as I scrabbled in the dark for a little warmth, I think it may have got folded in between the blanket and where it was tucked into the base of the bed. Grr... I've asked Jeanette if she can post it to Brisbane for me in the hope that Sian's parents who are currently visiting have space to bring it back to UK for me, and if they don't, it it doesn't get there before they leave, then Annabel can have a late birthday present from me! It's only been used about four times, mind you there are more drastic things I could have left behind. I've remembered all my limbs (plus spares) and most of my brain...my soul is already waiting for me in old blighty...</p>
</div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-71312475232327599532012-09-04T05:25:00.001-07:002012-09-04T05:34:29.151-07:00What am I doing here?!<div><p>Bizarre end to the evening...had a lovely meal out with Jeanette and Alan as it's our last night and then went to see the famous cane toad racing! Cane toads were introduced into Australia to get rid off a bug that was eating the sugar cane but unfortunately the bug could fly and the toads couldn't... so they bred and bred until they caused havoc to Australian flora and fauna!</p>
<p>And then they decided at The Iron Bar to start racing them...involving using a party blower to encourage your toad to jump off the table. Unfortunately (fortunately?!) our ticket numbers weren't pulled out of the hat so we didn't get to pick up our toad out of the bucket, kiss it and place it on the table!</p>
<p>Like I said...I did wonder what I was doing there!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2vOKwcIYPLAP4vu7DxXz56usfJ0PxD6WLOrSId-o4g5xyd3YSmqC6iszxIjWtlqycbToZ48YN8mvezpfyI9JDNL9PKe1sGsOQnAMU1EjB7NGEpPGZRp-TqcJgHxjwFzF9Six9p3g5obY/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXzx7TKWo0hJ2UEnUaKT4MnoMK_ErMkHGKKvDU0AiNf6jeKR97UqtlA0M5or61QCxAiBX1GJU_AZkw5jlv2QrG-Mw-JmvPdezx8NxTmJPwXZioELeAZzHYzmrSXqsL41wZm8wG2D7QEgS/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhHKwwQU8dW5YD8v75ngB2MZqFYE4JxNDdN03FM_AXVxXBIAe1dFgBFY9I2jxAthitjGDIjBrhKg9vtH1h7qZXT3IDgqGscwEDGNvKYQiVtJveJRu13ih82GcFFJf7PsnjxwplCnvtjq85/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-89749120798645866622012-09-02T00:54:00.001-07:002012-09-02T00:54:14.008-07:00Port Douglas Market<div><p>This morning we pottered around the Sunday markets again. I'm not usually one for shopping but I really enjoy getting lost in this market and seeing all the arts and crafts and trying homemade specialties. For example, cane juice pressed by someone pedalling a bike which turned two wheels through which the cane was fed, or cassowary cake, which was blander than I expected but still quite nice. On second thoughts that might be cassava cake...I'm guessing you're not allowed to kill the endangered cassowary especially with the intent of putting it in a cake!</p>
<p>I picked up another souvenir which I won't be able to fit in my bag on the way home without throwing away half my clothes, but it was a good buy! Last week I bought a wooden rake the size of my first finger, just because it was only a dollar! I plan to use it in my home- made zen garden. It's all part of the zen me that I am planning for September. You heard it here first! (apart from one person reading who heard it on its conception in July!) (I may need reminding of this once I've gone back to school)</p>
<p>This afternoon the waves were big so I finally got some dramatic boogie boarding action! The calm surf has given me all the steering and wave catching practice I needed so now I'm not unlike superman on a board! (or something like that...) Hopefully it will stay rough for another couple of goes tomorrow...but I tell you its exhausting! Particularly fighting against the waves buffeting against your stomach in order to get back out so that you can catch a wave back in again. Usually you have to stand against anything between six and ten waves to get back out to where you want to be, but there is something strangely addictive about it. If anyone is reading this thinking "I must have a go", get in touch with me when I get home and we'll make a plan for Scarborough!!</p>
</div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-61461891809330433852012-09-01T15:49:00.001-07:002012-09-01T15:49:51.475-07:00Emma Tatnall<div><p>I am almost convinced that the name Tatnall had some historic Australian background because out here people don't look at me funny and make me spell it every time I say it. Also there is a "Tatnall Cottage" somewhere out here that we visited fifteen years ago.</p>
<p>And the most exciting thing...we were watching "<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/spicksandspecks/txt/s1530492.htm">Spicks and Specks</a>" (an Australian soap) and at the end my name came up on the credits! I have never seen/met/heard of anyone else with my name! If you click on the name, you will see a cast list and find that I am a production assistant!</p>
</div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-85348956639691239522012-09-01T02:24:00.001-07:002012-09-01T02:24:31.643-07:00Breakfast with the birds<div><p>'The Habitat' in Port Douglas is famous for "Breakfast with the Birds" and "Lunch with the Lorikeets" so we decided to try the former and arrived at 8am hungry in anticipation if an all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast! There was delicious fruit, cooked bacon, sausages, eggs & beans, croissants and other pastries (my personal favourite!), cereal (why fill up on this?!), juices and tea & coffee...And the only limiting factors were how much you could fit in your stomach, and how much the birds stole from you should you leave your filled plate on the table to get another cup of coffee!</p>
<p>Well, we packed away as much as we could and then went round the rest of the habitats -grassland, wetlands and rainforest. There were some interesting and informative feeding tours, and we were lucky enough to be there on the one day a week that they feed the crocodiles. It's quite impressive when 4.2 metres of crocodile launches itself in the air to grab a dangling chicken!<br>
We also stroked a snake, a baby crocodile and feed the kangaroos, but there were a lot less people around than at the other place we visited from Sydney. Also the animals all had the freedom to roam, only the quoll was in a cage and it was a big one. The staff were friendlier and gave more interesting talks and at this place the koalas were only allowed to 'work' for 30 mins every 3 weeks. Becky cuddled a koala...or rather it clung to her shoulders with its sharp claws as if she was a tree, but she still managed to smile for the camera! I had some close encounters with kangaroos/wallabies which were really lovely...I tempted them over for food and they let me stroke them in return :-) It was a bit of a mission stopping the magpie geese from pecking the food out of my hands and there were some pretty greedy moorhens too running aggressively towards me, but I managed to distract them with scattered food while the kangaroos ate out of my hands.</p>
<p>I forgot to take a picture for you, sorry, but I must tell you one last thing- I saw a sea eagle today, flying over the sea (funnily enough!) while Becky was using my bodyboard. An impressive sight even without binoculars because it was close enough to see its white head and dark wing tips with the naked eye. Brilliant!</p>
</div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-14252476085646309772012-08-31T03:39:00.001-07:002012-09-01T03:52:32.428-07:00Once in a blue moon...<div><p>I actually came to Australia once in a blue moon...how cool! Haven't seen it yet though, it's behind a cloud :-(</p>
<p>Addition: it came out from behind the clouds and was lovely...but not at all blue!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPS9iBfNrI-qIgq3dvOYEGbud8Lon4_xGAcDb6ItiOqit6JZjLs9R4anXrZtZtzm1ZvvxRdjQqHGUelwhAgF5ctnXK1Iulg1vYobJXMjNsAcHECXETy2XkNmTOhoa4lHLPF4_jo8rSBe-S/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-40727505552197973832012-08-31T01:39:00.001-07:002012-08-31T01:44:21.162-07:00Trouble in ant-world<div><p>I'm starting to feel a bit guilty about my ant-licking habits... Today after I had licked my ant and let him run off, I watched what happened next. He ran off seemingly quite happily, but when he meet another ant they touched feelers together, and it was almost like the other ant said, "what happened to you? What's that slime on your bottom?" Then he turned to the next ant and said, "oy, look what happened to Bertram...he's looking a bit peaky..." Who turned to the next one and said, "you won't believe that I've just seen, coffee and have a look!"</p>
<p>And all of a sudden, loads of ants had dived on top of poor Bertram inspecting his bottom and stroking his body. I watched for about five minutes and then I lost sight of which one was Bertram, so I'm not entirely sure whether they were reassuring him, or whether he had fainted and they were tearing him limb from limb from limb from limb from limb from limb!</p>
<p>Sadly while I was transfixed on my balcony, the sun was setting and the mosis (possibly in league with the ants and wreaking revenge!) started biting! Grr...I've done so well up to now but in the last couple of days I've neglected my anti mosi spray and possibly as a result of sleeping with my burnt buttocks outside the sheets I now have quite a lot of bites on my arms and legs!</p>
<p>Ooh, BB update-Aloe Vera gel works wonders, I can sit down again :-)</p>
</div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-42449649840285024072012-08-30T02:01:00.001-07:002012-08-30T02:01:25.886-07:00Foxface rabbitfish!<div><p>What a fantastic day! (I should say now that those of you reading this to find out what Becky is up to should know that it wasn't such a fantastic day for her because she felt very seasick :-( I should probably add that since we have got back on dry land she is perking up a bit, is currently eating crisps and doesn't look the colour of a hotel sheet any more!)</p>
<p>Anyway, back to me! ;-) Apart from Becky's seasickness I have had an almost perfect day! We went on a catamaran with 78ish other people (although it didn't feel like that many) to the Agincourt reef on the outer edges of the great barrier reef. We went to three different sites on this reef and snorkelled for about an hour in each place-it was fantastic to see so many different coral structures. I particularly enjoyed the second one as it was a little reef island that you could swim all the way round and there was layer upon layer of fish going down into the depths. Truly incredible sights, amazing colours, every size of fish (apart from shark!) and plenty of time to explore it all. I took a lot of underwater footage...my camera survived the experience...although looking back on it I've decided that it's very difficult to keep a video camera still underwater and there should be a warning to viewers not to watch my footage if they suffer from seasickness!!</p>
<p>We had a lovely lunch and because Becky couldn't stomach any of it I managed to wangle a huge bag of tiger prawns to bring home (I'm not yet sure if I'll eat them, my usual policy is not to eat any food that is looking at me!!)</p>
<p>The only downside to the day (apart from B's seasickness) is that despite being so careful with suncream etc I appear to have forgotten a little strip just below my swimming costume, there's no other way to say this...I can't believe I've burnt my buttocks! Not badly but enough to feel it when I sit down! Grr...</p>
<p>Oh and my favourite fish is the foxface rabbitfish...and I had decided that before I find out what it was called, but now...well there's no contest!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWz426q9tI7QdIAzIdpY2XO_xyZtFrhf18mdizRnYlRNdt4AZYgL4Oj82Vr-381sJwrqVyvjldji-W6Z-W0aOZLuyLhB32bMWwg48O_HS6pFMIKwDkn7L4SBtHkp8rGnLUS6Uy_WWE-nlU/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-74507037493625383412012-08-29T02:56:00.001-07:002012-08-29T02:59:15.987-07:00Turtle!<div><p>The ospreys in the previous post were within the Thala Beach Lodge down the road from where we were staying. Jeanette and Alan took us down there and then while they had an expensive 5* eco friendly lunch, we took our 5* home-made (by me!) sandwiches down to the beach. We then wandered to the bird hide to see the ospreys (see previous post) and on to Turtle Lookout. We weren't sure if it was named this because you could actually see turtles, because the rock was turtle-shaped, or for some other obscure reason, but we had a good look...sans binoculars again! (the sign that said, "please grab some binoculars from reception" failed to mention the $300 deposit necessary! $300!)</p>
<p>Just when I was thinking that it must just be a name, a rock I was watching moved. Not only did it move but it raised its head out of the water! Becky thought she saw a flipper and after much umming and ahhing I was convinced that we were watching turtles. Becky took a bit more persuading, but we did agree in the end that they must be turtles!</p>
<p>We walked down to the beach and I decided to go for a very hot, very rocky, very quick (it was nearly time to get back to J&A) clambour round to where I thought the turtles would be. I went a little too far I think, and was only rewarded with a little head popping up once, but nevermind, at least I have now seen turtles in the wild. They were browner than I was expecting!</p>
<p>I don't have any pictures for you as they were too far away. But I do have a rather groovy pic of a t-shirt belonging to Chris (in Brisbane). I'm hoping to see a cuttle fish tomorrow though I think it's unlikely. Even if they are there, they are the masters of disguise-they can change colour at will, they can even blow out ink and make themselves look like the ink blob so that a predator attacks the blob discovering it is not edible and then assumes the cuttle fish (now looking like the blob) is the same thing! Sorry, I got a bit over excited there...if I lived in Australia I could probably join a cuttlefish appreciation society...I jest not -tell them Chris!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpe6nNFUvMXIggOvlWMkCI8ccGYaLK7NMgbOTt3NSgPuVs9qqfkgyc9qo69cEgcdaZkNPzBd6JgcEs6nBh__dcwZp40Jwoyu5DLmbkksdMwuHBpoiwYOQkwnXFYmgx5kqhv8-OO2ee3VQ/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-35041745702977228942012-08-28T21:28:00.001-07:002012-08-28T23:25:44.438-07:00Peep!<div><p>Right in the centre of this picture (slightly worse quality as I've zoomed in) is an osprey nest on top of a pylon. It currently has both adults and one osprey chick sitting in it who peeps every so often especially if a Brahminy kite flies overhead, which I think they have been! The only thing we're missing is a pair of binoculars so I can't be sure!</p>
<p>Addition to post: just seen two more nests on the way home, also on telegraph poles! Couldn't see the young just the adults, but apparently they do have chicks.<br>
</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdg5OXo-_MEMDKlBRtAGubaC-UibdtgO6C4Pg9lqukhjPC1v1-GrwZ5QdeXGn8MgykdHxxKp-n4wbiC-hyc2VdaVjS-Gf6Fe59y0MG-sNK9OS99IvRCLnLqRCdpDggk1ZxdqHEJD5d-0Up/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-64421318637504673432012-08-28T18:05:00.001-07:002012-08-28T18:05:07.311-07:00This is the life!<div><p>Becky has walked into town to buy some more suncream and I have come to the pool connected with the villas...I don't think it's open to the hoy palloy-they have sixteen lagoons to choose from! There's no-one here, just me, the sun and my book! Bliss!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh98nheFjrb9yekTgnR9O1I0i7K6iAEz17cn1SQ4RJeZLoXSuOfnoR7SPbGsBYYPQ9UQKyFL0SzhA9xYnwcxKgpw47N914K4USXM9ztWIRe_cxyKnvRBF37-XkOApMI9rZ1CR5C9ssm7ZR/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-10676798459950880272012-08-28T04:52:00.001-07:002012-08-28T04:52:06.714-07:00News flash!!<div><p>The East Coast has had a record breaking number of dry days-now 39 and counting. As it is so dry and now starting to get hotter as we head into spring the eastern brown snakes are on the move! They are looking for places to live, and leaving the door open may well be an invitation to one to move in. They have enough venom in their fangs to kill a mere thirteen human beings. </p>
<p>Unfortunately when I went up to my bedroom there was a snake-sized gap between my sliding door and the wall. My only hope is that these snakes can't climb up to balconies. If they can I leave all my worldly wealth to Lottie.</p>
</div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-41789448207616200622012-08-28T00:40:00.001-07:002012-08-28T00:40:56.925-07:00Ant-licking<div><p>As promised here is a little explanation as to my ant-bottom licking activities of the past couple of days.</p>
<p>The weaver-ant has a large green bottom which is full of vitamin C and tastes of citrusy lemony/limey if you lick it. Apparently the ant eats caterpillar slime and converts it into vit c which it stores in its green abdomen ready to be licked! Nite Jeanette told us that they can bite, but if you hold them in the middle and make sure you lick the right end they give you a fantastic shock of taste in your tongue...not unlike limoncello! You can also let them run off unharmed afterwards so it didn't even feel that cruel! One a day has kept a cold at bay, Becky caught it from the children last week but so far I've survived without it! <br>
What I say is, if it's good enough for the aboriginal people it's good enough for me! </p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5Pv-IowlY63dRn_pEnwDfx5FLqCGF9xzkfF8njvV_NX_ZyImz0wSU_4bFu5AUDayY4_3ySVKs4ZsDzc-ngBVE0w6LsT9_T5zQa4agnxgoNcWBej1X8BWVf4yyU6yg2ejPnp-4YcbFwu_/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXpykF6N_86blFcIPily6zHCBmzy0FIyIbEuWG_QioBTaBBAVm51Wf26cdPfl4YioXMTU__G8QunpzjyDt22qQwZlBMK9XzlvRm2zeoxoG-oudafA__ErG0hus1sjfUcbU-DvA5eNNzzw/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-53905441854667920132012-08-27T18:35:00.001-07:002012-08-27T18:35:01.000-07:00Not a bad spot for coffee...<div><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRio-EvZKvL2F2b3yMzVI2Ew5rvLarqV60vGJ3LDDLwoafyzc30-sfmVeItCZIdA6AxRt4LpSwUoLyPPyr4I7iai7MH1q98MrWR6aTsBlO2oR_cSuMidaWcIUh9jEA2twwf-thq16v2kg/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-77417601472491526072012-08-26T05:41:00.001-07:002012-08-26T05:41:53.670-07:00Djabugay<div><p>We have moved to Port Douglas today, from an ant-ridden, noisy backpackers hostel (where for some reason they sweep the corridor floors sometime between 1am and 5am) to a five-star villa with 16 lagoons you can swim in round the complex, as well as swimming pools, not to mention the 4-mile beach almost in view! we walk across a small bit of golf course (pictured behind my Lottie substitute in the photo below!) in between some trees and we are facing the rolling surf and white sand. This afternoon we lay on the beach and I body-boarded a bit but the waves weren't really big enough, so it was more bobbing around than an extreme sport!</p>
<p>Neither of us slept very well last night...I'll never understand why Friday night is still Friday night to people even when they are on holiday and days of the week mean nothing! We tried to drown out the noise of the other residents with the air conditioning but that was loud too. Becky still managed to get up in time to do a meditative yoga session in cairns center and I...er...went back to sleep! So we did very little today other than lie on the beach and in my case sleep a bit, then jump back into the amazingly warm waves...it's almost like a bath as you step into the shallows.</p>
<p>I haven't got around to telling you about our aboriginal experience at a center called Tjapukai. It was fantastic-we had a demonstration on how to play the didgeridoo...with all the animal effects (dingo howling, kookaburra chattering etc), then an aboriginal creation story show with special light projection effectswhich was very clever. The real people on stage interacted with projections of fire, animals, thunder etc. The aboriginal people used their own language and we all had headphones on to listen in our own languages, but we could still hear the djabugay language. You'll notice two spellings...I think tjapukai is an anglicised (Australised?!) version. Then we saw traditional songs and dances...well any of you who know me well will know just how much I enjoyed that and how my work brain (for the most part switched off out here) pricked up and started planning Australian music workshops! After learning about bush tucker, medicine and weapons we had a go at spear throwing and boomerang throwing (my first one was pretty good and after the djabugay woman called me a "good hunter" I threw the second one at the wrong angle and would have killed myself had I tried to catch it!)<br>
Sadly it was all over too quickly and our shuttle home was waiting for us so we had to go home, back to Njoy where the tiny ants had found their way into a bag in a bag and were swarming over my eucalyptus drops. The only food remaining untouched was the stuff we had hung in a bag in the middle of a clothes rail so they would have had to scale the side of a wardrobe and balance along a metal pole, then shin down a bag handle and bite through two layers of plastic bag!</p>
<p>Anyway, long entry, sorry, hope you're still with me...a little enticer for next entry...come back next time for exciting tales of ant bottom licking!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_HaRfIlA4L34EZfwZq1bgrY7WitziqrbDSaSvfAPT5zZ9AENBGy6-g4IYe-wedz1XoHlOuKABnbE7c8ixHSfD-Fwe6dMLTyTEHdD9GUOnKx5c9W11C41WEFHIc0gPU3jAwvARPKZf0LEk/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-51923709202528189732012-08-23T17:45:00.001-07:002012-08-23T17:45:58.054-07:00Barron Falls<div><p>We have come up to a little village called Kuranda and walked through the rainforest to find this!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYdJKdXXuGjS7FfvYTu2m1su5QqStXJoUjoz32dU1IJXtcMnaAkUEpDIBQSMakqJqOraiOf0BtNsm_g4eRlgPLp9i0YhGU-KXvB3qYavZWT5OC12REsoLEPU8wfEGtfrE24eCSyd8Z9iU/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-8318090711286248792012-08-22T05:03:00.001-07:002012-08-22T05:03:45.082-07:00In Cairns quite by surprise!<div><p>Today we have said goodbye to lovely Sian and Chris who have been brilliant to stay with (and their gorgeous daughters who are a credit to them) and moved on to Cairns. We were originally going to go back to Melbourne, then Andrew and co. moved to Singapore so we decided to go to Port Douglas but due to a mix-up of dates we have been unable to go straight up there and so are at a backpackers hotel called Njoy (oh dear!) The staff are very helpful, the guy behind the counter when we arrived had a label calling him Buddha...he's calling Becky "Smithy" and me "Emma Darling" ...in a very Australian way! The room is nice for what we're paying. Twin room, air con and a sink, the only slightly annoying thing is the toilets and showers address out of order in our block so we're going to have to go over a bridge to get to toilets on the night! Hey ho, could be worse...I think I've killed the only spider in the room... as it made advances towards Becky from behind I lept up  kicking a cup of water over the for and bashed it with a bag filled with my sunglasses in bits. I asked the lady in specsavers if she could tighten the screws to stop them wobbling and she broke the screw off leaving half of it inside. Apparently it was waiting to happen and she hardly touched it. She had told me there was a slight risk of cracking the lens...but not that the glasses might be in pieces by the end of it...grr! She was remarkably laid back and told me of somewhere in the outback where I could get them fixed for $20. Instead I bought two pairs for $12 which should get me to the end of the holiday if I don't let anyone else touch them!! This afternoon Becky went exploring and I went for a swim in the pool and then hibernated in the room and listened to a lot of reggae (we overlook the pool!)<br>
Ps. The pic is of the Esplanade lagoon in the center of cairns...not our little pool!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4HyTup2LE2T-90f8WoU_SDw9z-B4ZfXTZuVMk-GF0gFd7sOf3qkoxSKlcc_9mAsmqKT8V9ESk9oU8d-yACG0lyhQSmjvErTa57Dxi6tiAOP5ijnb2mBZUm7l6Ch4wztvPXetMOAU2M_P/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-47178438684655790422012-08-20T04:51:00.004-07:002012-08-20T04:51:51.540-07:00To my Russian audienceApparently this blog has been viewed 98 times by people in Russia. This feels like too high a number to have been chance viewings unless my blog title is actually a Russian spelling of something highly appealing, and people are highly disappointed when they arrive...! So, my lovely Russian following, what makes you want to read?Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-13856441125633012512012-08-20T04:44:00.004-07:002012-08-20T04:44:52.313-07:00"Hurry up monkeyface!"Yesterday we went to visit Jill and her brother, who are living about an hour from where we are staying. It was so lovely to see her - she has been here in Brisbane for four months caring for Stephen, but he is doing much better now and she is actually going back to England tomorrow, so we just caught her. I am really looking forward to having her living round the corner again, there's nobody quite like her. We had coffee with them, then walked down to the river where we picked up the City Cat ferry into the centre of Brisbane. Its very speedy! Had lunch, did a "lonely planet" wander round the city, through some swampy mangroves and visited St. Stephen's cathedral which is surrounded by shiny tower blocks - crazy juxtaposition!! A mad man on a bike came and asked Becky to help him find a marble figure of Jesus in a clam shell....I think he was on a treasure hunt or something and running out of time!<br />
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We both had affogatos in a mall, very swish - you get ice cream in a glass and espresso coffee in a jug and you pour the coffee over the icecream...gave me enough zing to drift back to the station! I was tired yesterday as didn't sleep brilliantly, so needed a few caffeine highs to get me through the day!<br />
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Today we pottered on the beach with the children and went to another park where Becky played with them for ages with boundless energy. Having had to take paracetamol in the night I was tired again so I sat in the sun chatting to Sian. Chris of course was at work! We came home and played sleeping lions for a while on the veranda and then went to another park where Jessica and I spent a <i>long</i> time examining the ants and their path from the sandpit to their nest. She gave them regular water pit-stops with her bottle of water, which I'm not sure they entirely appreciated, but she was fascinated. Sian went shopping while we played in the park and then we came home and had a movie night! Annabelle was curled up asleep under my arm by the time the Emperor was parading in his new clothes.<br />
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We are currently babysitting so that Sian and Chris could go out for a meal, and so far there has not been a single squeak from the bedroom (a loud snore on one occasion, but nothing more concerning!)<br />
Today's post title is another quote but I'm going to leave it to you to guess who said it to me! There's nobody quite like her :-)Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-60658786366912283012012-08-18T20:31:00.001-07:002012-08-18T23:14:47.744-07:00Why?!<div><p>I have changed the settings on the blog as I realised some people couldn't comment on it...now here's your chance-what could be a possible reason for needing this sign? (it was on the back of a female toilet door)</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1d9u1ZRReJ8ak2_v4Cpovp31PbqnbnPkshtteN76YDdOPWbyPACT-Kptbdy8wMRXWSUMPBqlBdwui32EpbpxwGQeshZYlUSaKQpBcJ2G0rtFV6jE4vfVaz4A83uNM1G-QNZopCXzBcwYH/' /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644728262719625909.post-21876595267673649732012-08-18T17:06:00.001-07:002012-08-18T23:12:25.882-07:00Upside down<div><p>There are certain things about Australia that remind you, you are on the upside down side of the world!</p>
<p>1) the shop with no entrance -we walked round three sides of an enormous woolworths supermarket and could find no way in. Eventually the fourth side, furthest from its carpark offered us a door.</p>
<p>2) the station with two names. Of course it won't confuse people if we call it Central Station on all the signs at the station but call it Roma Street when we announce it on the train!</p>
<p>3) when you get a green man telling you I can cross the road, there are often still cars turning left into the road you are crossing.</p>
<p>I may add to this...</p>
<p>4) didn't think I'd be adding this quickly... Changing the platform of trains without making any announcement to that effect!! Grr...</p>
</div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08369622468275750814noreply@blogger.com0